Download pdf - Canadian Yearly Meeting
Download pdf - Canadian Yearly Meeting Download pdf - Canadian Yearly Meeting
An Open Letter to Friendsfrom Margaret SlavinDear Friends,Meetings are being approached to evaluate thevalue of the Quaker Education Program, and alsothe Youth Secretary work. That in itself may increaseawareness among us about these programs, but I amfeeling a little alarmed at where things stand.It has become apparent to me that many Friendshave not even heard of these programs, much less havesupported them financially. This is the reason why wecreated the positions in the first place: we are out ofcontact with one another across the country and areprecariously few in numbers. I hope that most activeFriends read The Canadian Friend, but in reality Iknow that even this assumption may not necessarilybe true. Canadian Friends read Quaker material fromthe US which is helpful for the spiritual journey,but not for being informed about the movement ofSpirit in our own Yearly Meeting. Others read QuakerConcern and are aware of our social justice work, butmistake that for the whole national life of CanadianYearly Meeting.All I really know about our two new programs isthat Sue Starr has produced material that we have beenneeding and requesting for at least ten years. I knowthat Katrina McQuail has sent out queries and othermaterials that are helpful and challenging regarding therole of the youth among us. Also, I hear that Katrinais hard at work among Young Friends. I know fromexperience that our Society is fragile, and that CYMwent through a deep and lengthy process to find itselfled to create these two part-time positions. Since thenthe lack of financial support has been discouraging.The programs would not have gone past the first yearif funds had not become available from a one-timesource – the J. Ross Rogers bequest. Most Friends andAttenders I have spoken with haven’t heard of thesepositions, and are unaware of the need for support.From these conversations and from what I heard atCYM, I fear that the continuation of the positionsremains quite tenuous.I feel that if we cannot continue these positions forat least a second three-year term, then we are risking thedemise of the Religious Society of Friends in Canada.Also, we are indicating that we do not really believe inour process as being Spirit-led. Or maybe we believe itis Spirit-led, but we no longer will follow the Spirit!According to my own back-of-the-envelopefiguring, if each active Friend and Attender sendsjust $60 a year to CYM, over and above any usualdonations, these programs will have no troublecontinuing. If a Friend cannot afford the $60, send $6.If a Friend can afford $600, send that. We don’t haveministers and most of us do not have Meeting Housesto support. If we value the role of Friends in our liveswe need to support these two positions.Maybe in another three years it will be appropriateto listen again to our leadings around Quakereducation, and around the role of the youth amongus, but right now, surely we need to be faithful to ourleadings. I am writing this letter in that spirit, hopingit will inform others and that we will continue thisgood work.In FriendshipMargaret Slavin, Peterborough Monthly Meeting4May 2013 - The Canadian Friend
Sunderland P. Gardner LecturerCYM 2013 – Caroline Balderston Parry––––––––––––––––––––––––––––I wept in amazement when asked to deliver the2013 SPG lecture. I will lead the evening from a placeof worship, not from a fully prepared script, but byspeaking from what I call, the ‘I don’t know’ place:Holy Spirit with me always. My aim is to reflect onaspects of my spiritual journey, access the spaciousnessof Spirit, and to invite your response. We’ll share aspiraling process which may involve herons.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Caroline, a religious educator, award winningauthor*, poet, folk singer and visual artist, grew up ina large Quaker family near Philadelphia. She attendedWesttown Friends School in Pennsylvania and, in1999 taught briefly at Sibford [Friends] School inOxfordshire. A member of Ottawa Monthly Meetingsince 1990, she is/has also been an active Friend inMontreal, Toronto and Victoria Monthly Meetings,and Hull Meeting in Yorkshire.Currently, Caroline serves as part time Director ofReligious Education (DRE) for the Unitarian Churchof Montreal, and also leads monthly collage workshops.She moved to Montreal in 2008 after two years as anInterim DRE in Ohio, where she developed her “haikuhabit”, following three years as Interim Director forthe First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa.She met David, her London born husband, whilevolunteering at Mitraniketan, a school and communitydevelopment project in Kerala, India. They emigratedto Canada in 1973. Their daughter, writer/performerEvalyn Parry, was born that year. Their musician/composer son, Richard Reed Parry, was born in 1977.David Parry died suddenly in 1995.Caroline has led Junior Gathering weeks forFGC, been a Friends Journal Board member, and hasserved two terms on the former Home Missions andAdvancement Committee (HMAC). She was involvedat Camp NeeKauNis for years as a parent, Communityand Intermediate Camp director, and cook. A memberof the Consultation and Renewal [Cn’R] task force forCYM from 2005-07, Caroline is pleased to sit on theEmployment Committee for our Quaker EducationProgram Coordinator, and to support the YouthSecretary; both are inspiring new CYM positions.*For details on her published works and upcomingmemoir, The Heron Spirals: A Commonplace Book, seewww.carolinebalderstonparry.com–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Bible Study:Radical InterpretationCYM 2013 - Ben Pink Dandelion–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––The first Friends felt that traditional forms ofChristianity belonged to an age passed. They developeda new and radical interpretation of Christianity, basedon their experience of personal transformation. Thisexperience led also to a very distinctive style of worshipand a particular lifestyle or testimony, a way of beingin the world but not of it. Our sessions will outlinethe key elements of early Quaker thought, and explorehow the changes over three-and-a-half centuries cameabout. We will also ask, “What are the challenges todayand what are some of the ways we can meet them?”Ben Pink Dandelion is Professor of Quaker Studiesat the University of Birmingham, UK. He directs thework of the Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies,Woodbrooke and the University of Birmingham. Heedits Quaker Studies and his books include Livingthe Quaker Way (2012), Celebrating the Quaker Way(2010), The Quakers: a very short introduction (2008),and Introduction to Quakerism (2007). He is a memberof Sawley Quaker Meeting in the shadow of PendleHill, England.Volume 109, Number 2 5
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Sunderland P. Gardner LecturerCYM 2013 – Caroline Balderston Parry––––––––––––––––––––––––––––I wept in amazement when asked to deliver the2013 SPG lecture. I will lead the evening from a placeof worship, not from a fully prepared script, but byspeaking from what I call, the ‘I don’t know’ place:Holy Spirit with me always. My aim is to reflect onaspects of my spiritual journey, access the spaciousnessof Spirit, and to invite your response. We’ll share aspiraling process which may involve herons.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Caroline, a religious educator, award winningauthor*, poet, folk singer and visual artist, grew up ina large Quaker family near Philadelphia. She attendedWesttown Friends School in Pennsylvania and, in1999 taught briefly at Sibford [Friends] School inOxfordshire. A member of Ottawa Monthly <strong>Meeting</strong>since 1990, she is/has also been an active Friend inMontreal, Toronto and Victoria Monthly <strong>Meeting</strong>s,and Hull <strong>Meeting</strong> in Yorkshire.Currently, Caroline serves as part time Director ofReligious Education (DRE) for the Unitarian Churchof Montreal, and also leads monthly collage workshops.She moved to Montreal in 2008 after two years as anInterim DRE in Ohio, where she developed her “haikuhabit”, following three years as Interim Director forthe First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa.She met David, her London born husband, whilevolunteering at Mitraniketan, a school and communitydevelopment project in Kerala, India. They emigratedto Canada in 1973. Their daughter, writer/performerEvalyn Parry, was born that year. Their musician/composer son, Richard Reed Parry, was born in 1977.David Parry died suddenly in 1995.Caroline has led Junior Gathering weeks forFGC, been a Friends Journal Board member, and hasserved two terms on the former Home Missions andAdvancement Committee (HMAC). She was involvedat Camp NeeKauNis for years as a parent, Communityand Intermediate Camp director, and cook. A memberof the Consultation and Renewal [Cn’R] task force forCYM from 2005-07, Caroline is pleased to sit on theEmployment Committee for our Quaker EducationProgram Coordinator, and to support the YouthSecretary; both are inspiring new CYM positions.*For details on her published works and upcomingmemoir, The Heron Spirals: A Commonplace Book, seewww.carolinebalderstonparry.com–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Bible Study:Radical InterpretationCYM 2013 - Ben Pink Dandelion–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––The first Friends felt that traditional forms ofChristianity belonged to an age passed. They developeda new and radical interpretation of Christianity, basedon their experience of personal transformation. Thisexperience led also to a very distinctive style of worshipand a particular lifestyle or testimony, a way of beingin the world but not of it. Our sessions will outlinethe key elements of early Quaker thought, and explorehow the changes over three-and-a-half centuries cameabout. We will also ask, “What are the challenges todayand what are some of the ways we can meet them?”Ben Pink Dandelion is Professor of Quaker Studiesat the University of Birmingham, UK. He directs thework of the Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies,Woodbrooke and the University of Birmingham. Heedits Quaker Studies and his books include Livingthe Quaker Way (2012), Celebrating the Quaker Way(2010), The Quakers: a very short introduction (2008),and Introduction to Quakerism (2007). He is a memberof Sawley Quaker <strong>Meeting</strong> in the shadow of PendleHill, England.Volume 109, Number 2 5
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